This week's Project Run & Play theme was an "Earth Day Challenge: Design an earth friendly children's outfit. You can do this by upcycling, using organic materials, or recycled materials." Very cool. Since my favorite thing to do besides use vintage pieces is to upcycle pieces into adorable clothes for my Bella-rella.

I made two other outfits. Super cute rompers, one from a man's dress shirt and one from a pair of ladies pants, but they looked AWFUL in photographs! Super cute in person, but total blah on camera. So, here is outfit number three, the Daddy's Little Girl dress!

It's made entirely out of a man's dress shirt I got at Goodwill for $2. Score! The front of the dress is made from the back of the shirt. The bodice is the shirt's yoke and the box pleat adds a little volume to the dress.

ignore the backwards shoes...such a little goof

I made knot straps to mimic a man's tie and added the original pocket back on.

The back of the dress is entirely made from the shirt's sleeves. I ADORE how it turned out! The buttons are still operational, which is great because untying those knots can get frustrating.

Of course she needs a little hair bling, so I paired up a couple of fabric flowers.

I hope you like my upcycled look! You can see more of this and other Project Run & Play outfits on my flikr photostream, cause I know you are dying to see them. Heehee. Off to nurse my broken finger, which DOES NOT like typing....but I bet it would like chocolate....hmmmm

Kate at see kate sew is hosting "RUFFLES 2012" and has a ton of adorable ruffle ideas and she showcased my ruffled rainbow dress from Project Run & Play! There are so many cute ruffle ideas my head is spinning!

I was so close to getting things semi-caught up so I could get back to my sewing/blogging as usual, but along came Cade-man's 3rd birthday and party *SOB* and things went crazy again! I hadn't been on Pinterest in weeks! That is SO WRONG!

Good news, party was a success...look for pictures soon!

Bad news, the door to my garage blew shut on my finger and it looks like it went through a meat grinder! It's broken and a lot of the nerves have been crushed, along with a split nail and destroyed cuticle. And of course this happened 30 minutes before the party! Thank God for my parents and husband! It's a weird combination of numb and painful. According to my doctor (who was completely grossed out) it will be screwed up for months. Joy!

Anyhoo....back to pinterest! Here are my favorite new things! Click on the picture to go to the original source, these are not my ideas!

The theme for this weeks Project Run & Play is sportswear, which is soooo broad! I went with something that was my style and would be great for Bella-rella to wear all through the summer and fall. And really, who can resist a jumper?

I used this amazing vintage polyester print fabric, LOVE it! It's based on a vintage pattern and I crisscrossed the straps to add interest to the back

and added some big buttons on the front.

I made a pair of short leggings from an old shirt and added some ric-rac to the bottom to add a little fun. As you can see from the above shot my daughter isn't so good at "sitting like a lady" so wearing things under dresses is starting to become a must.

So, I did it. I actually wore a whole steampunk outfit....in public...where there were lots of PEOPLE who had EYES, so they could SEE ME! For about the first 30 minutes I wanted to hide in a corner or sink into the floor. Either would have worked. I felt so very silly, but my friend WROTE a BOOK, so I figured it was the least I could do to cheer her on!

In case you are as clueless as I was, here's some info from Wikipedia. "Steampunk also refers to art, fashion, and design that are informed by the aesthetics of Steampunk literature.Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style" Who knew, right?

I tried three different patterns to make a corset and they were are SO very bad! I sucked it up and took measurements (groan) and drafted my own using this tutorial. It worked perfectly! Amazing the difference. Without further ado, here I am all steamed up and trying to hide behind Bella-rella.

I made the corset reversible, with one side being "leather" and the other a floral brocade.

I found some amazing grommets in the purse section. I love that one side has tiny screws and the other is plain. It worked great with the two different fabrics.

There are 16 pieces of boning, which are actually just huge zip ties, because the boning at the fabric store was pathetic. I gotta admit that wearing a corset does make you have better posture!

I finished the bottom off with an opened zipper, which is one of my favorite details.

I added some D rings and hooks to make it "steampunky" and accessorize it.

My last minute purse! Mine really didn't go with the whole look.

I used some jewelry clasps to use as hooks for the dress pick ups.

With the skirt clipped up.

And done! Once I got the patterned figured out it was actually really easy and fast to sew.

The skirt is actually from an old curtain and I sewed on some jewelry findings to use as the pick ups.

My favorite part were the accessories! I made 6 different necklaces and a fantastic clockwork peacock mini-top hat. Quite lovely.

That big necklace in the middle is made from the inner gears in a drill! It's so heavy, but so fantastic!

And I went OUT IN THAT! Crazy! Since I did that you all must go and buy her book. I've read it twice, it's flipping FABULOUS! Email me if you buy it and I can get you a signed bookplate...you know you want to! I'll leave you with a few of my favorite lines.

"I just don't want to be surprised again," I said, feeling a bit prickly. "You will be, no matter what," he said. "Might as well expect it."― Delilah S. Dawson, Wicked as They Come

“I would burn down the world for you," he whispered fiercely. "Your world or my own. I would rip down the entire city with my bare hands without a second thought. I don't need to taste anything else, I don't need a comparison.” ― Delilah S. Dawson, Wicked as They Come

“Why, Criminy Stain," I said. "You're a romantic." "Oh, no," he said with a grin. "I'm fiendish and unscrupulous, a vicious killer and a thief and a bloodthirsty monster. And maybe a little romantic. But don't tell anyone, or my reputation's shot.” ― Delilah S. Dawson, Wicked as They Come